How Can swelling And Pain In The Toe Be Treated?

Hi, It would be more helpful if you had informed us about your age. It will be more likely to have a toe fracture by trauma in older ages (due to osteoporosis). I have been seeing patients with your problem at my own clinic for 15 years and in my experience toes do not dislocate very easily (especially by a trauma such as falling an object on them). In most cases, we see a strain and local inflammation of soft tissues around the toes or their related joint such as local inflammation of the joint capsules, ligaments, etc. The fact that your toe was purple shows that it had some bleeding inside but as the purplish colour and swelling are getting less, it seems that fortunately the bleeding is getting absorbed. You did a nice job by icing the region. My suggestion: Please put some pressure over the toe. If you think it is very painful yet and the pain is not alleviated after 5-6 days, you need to take an X-ray of that toe but if you think the pain is much less than the first couple of days, you do not need to go anywhere. In the latter case, you can start an anti-inflammatory drug such as Ibuprofen or Diclofenac (assuming that there is at least 5 days since the trauma) for a few days. If you have the history of gastric or duodenal ulcer, it is safer to get Celecoxib or meloxicam as they do not irritate the stomach as much as Ibuprofen and Diclofenac. Another thing that you can do is that you gently massage your toe in the warm water (again assuming that there is at least 5 days since the trauma). It s better that you pour a little salt in that water and then massage for about 5 minutes 1-2 times a day. If the problem persists after a few days of medication and relative rest, an X-ray is again needed (but this will not be the case). Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Take care Regards, Dr Hooman Mahmoudi, Neurologist